Younger COPD sufferers report job and life burdens

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases are damaging the confidence, and the incomes, of an increasing number of patients still of working age, a new international survey found.

A survey of 2,426 COPD patients under age 65 in six countries found that more than a third had seen their incomes drop as a result of their condition, and more than half said the condition had prevented them from achieving their life goals.

"Our study highlights the extent of the burden on the younger working age population, who should be productive and leading active lives," said Monica Fletcher, CEO of Education for Health, in an email to Reuters Health. Her non-profit organization promotes education for health professionals.

"Physicians need to be more aware of COPD in the younger age groups and take steps to promote smoking cessation, diagnose earlier and intervene with appropriate therapies as required," Fletcher said.

COPD encompasses emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and in some circumstances asthma, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most COPD cases are caused by smoking or air pollution, and the condition is on the rise. The CDC estimates that one in 20 U.S. deaths in 2005 were attributable to COPD.

Fletcher and her team surveyed patients in Brazil, China, Germany, the UK, Turkey and the U.S., and presented their results September 25th at the annual conference of the European Respiratory Society in Amsterdam.

Among the respondents -- whose mean age was 56 -- 35 percent had mild COPD, 42 percent had moderate disease and 21 percent had severe disease.

Overall, 896 patients said their income was decreased due to their COPD, and 80 percent of those individuals felt they were unable to maintain the same lifestyle they had before they became ill.

The proportion complaining of a diminished lifestyle varied by country, however, ranging from 57 percent in China to 84 percent in the UK and 90 percent in Turkey.

Forty-one percent of the total survey population said they were unable to plan for the future.

Describing the social limitations imposed by COPD, 26 percent of patients said they were unable to care for their family as usual, 58 percent have decreased their visits to other people, 52 percent said their cough is embarrassing in public and 17 percent felt that they were a burden to their friends and family.

Dr. Mike Roberts, Dean for Students at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, who was not involved in the research, told Reuters Health the responses show "how devastating an impact COPD can have on lifestyle for even milder patients and highlights some of the 'hidden costs' of the condition that are not usually considered by doctors or smokers."

The research was funded by a grant from Novartis.

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